Nine Days Later
by Merlin-Herondale
Summary: Where are the Avenger's nine days after the battle with Loki? What's going on through there minds? (I promise the story is better then the summary) I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. Enjoy :)


Nine days past since the battle against Loki, New York was just in the beginning stages of cleaning up, but most people were in the final stages of healing. The news blabbed on and on about the Avengers, about the hero's that saved them, but what the news didn't answer was the question all civilians wanted to know. Where were there hero's now? New York knew Tony Stark, or Iron Man as they prefer to call him, was re-building his home, and though they knew he deserved some space, the people of New York are just that, people. Their curiosity got the better of them and after two days, the public was at his door nearly twenty-four seven. Tony didn't mind though, he always enjoyed being under the spotlight. Pepper, his newly fiancé, had things to do both inside and outside the tower, and hated the attention whenever she walked through the main doors, the only doors at the moment. After a few weeks of it though, she too grew adapted to the media's constant hassle. She was engaged to a superhero after all, should knew things like this would happen, just never to the extent it was at now.

Bruce Banner, or called The Hulk by the media who only knew of the green man, not the one the green guy replaced, now lived with Tony and Pepper at Stark Tower, or what's left of it anyway. His room was on the only floor capable to be lived on, the main floor. That was where he, Tony and Pepper all shared a space, there was; a living room, a game room, a study, a kitchen, a dining room, three bath's, three bedrooms and a lab. Bruce and Tony spent most of their time in the lab, but when Pepper needed him Tony was gone and Bruce had time to think. The media only bothered him because he was living with their precious Iron Man and wanted the latest scoop. Bruce didn't mind this, he never spoke to them and he enjoyed their faces when he walked by without saying a word. When his mind wasn't working on scientific stuff, his heart was hard at work at moving his hands to the nearest phone and dialing the only person who really understands the struggle he went through in his transition into becoming The Hulk. Betty. Sweet, caring, understanding Betty. A few months ago and he would never had even considered calling her, putting her life in danger once more, but after the events with the Avengers, he felt like he could control the other guy. So when his mind was resting, his heart would take charge and call her. Her voice made him feel like everything he has ever done was right, she made him want to be a better person, and he knew deep down that he in fact was. The would talk for hours, the only thing keeping them off the phone was sleep. Betty said she would wait for him all those years ago, and waited she has. Bruce was going to fly out to Lawrence, Kansas to met her after his current experiment was completed.

S.H.I.E.L.D. only gave Black Widow and Hawkeye a day off before they were assigned another mission. It was a two man mission in Maui, Hawaii and S.H.I.E.L.D. was only going to send in Black Widow. Natasha would only come back to work if she had her partner there to back her up, so Furry gave in during a time of need and signed Clint's reinstatement after his ordeal with Loki. Clint was grateful that Natasha helped him get back in the field, it was the only way he knew how to cope with things. Taking his anger, pain, and regret out on the criminals of the world, fighting alongside with his partner, he was coping, and that's all that really mattered. Natasha, on the other hand, was glad to see Clint cope, he needed it, badly. But she couldn't keep the thought that she might have pushed him into work to early, only two weeks ago he was under the control of Loki. She quickly pushed that thought down though when she saw the look in his eyes, the look of gratitude towards her. Natasha knew in that moment that she made the right call, that she was helping him recover_. Love was for children_, Black Widow knew that, but when her beloved Hawkeye was involved, her mind rearranged the statement to _childish love. _She knew as long as they were together, nothing could truly break them. Black Widow needed her Hawkeye like the people of New York needed there hero's just nine days ago.

Thor was nowhere to be seen, he took Loki back to Asgard after the battle, and no one's heard from him sense. He told his newly found friends that he will return to Midgard once Loki has been dealt with. His reasoning for waiting to return was that he couldn't leave his brother alone again, never again would he abandon him. Everyone, except Clint, understood his reasoning and wished their friend safety in his trip home. Even though New York was being built from scratch, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the moment Thor returned, he would go straight to New Mexico and see his long lost love, Jane.

Brooklyn was in good shape compared to the other islands. The media was covering the damage of the fight and Stark Tower, they never came by Brooklyn. The people there were caught in the media and thankful for the superhero's that came to the rescue, though that was understandable. Caption America was loved by the people, they knew his suit, his shield, what they didn't know was his face. Steve Rodgers couldn't help but laugh at that though, his mask had left his face during the battle, he saved lives, talked to people unmasked, yet they still didn't seem to remember his face, just his suit. Not that it bothered Steve, in fact, it didn't bother him at all, it was just a funny thing to him. Steve was back in his apartment relaxing, trying to block out the noise from the outside world and remember the sounds that became his salvation. The click of women's heels, the car horns, the music, the way people spoke, the forties. With no T.V. in his house, no computer, there was little communication with the outside world, it brought peace to his mind. A wave of creativity flooded Steve, he quickly stood up and grabbed his art supplies. Before returning to his spot on the couch he turned on the radio Natasha gave him trying to apologize for being a part of the scam when he first woke up from the ice. Steve hands quickly moved across the paper, he switched pencils every now and then, but his hands never stopped. He drew for hours, a picture of the damage of New York he remembered seeing. The Avengers, as a team, in fighting position. Another he drew of his team, the team of men who served with him nearly seventy years ago, he drew their body's in the same position as the ones in his previous picture. Bucky stood were he stood, the brave men who followed him into battle filled the other members. He needed to add one more person though, he added an angel above the team. The wings spread over them, her head slightly looking down as if making sure each solider was alright. The angel Steve drew held the face of Peggy. The women who was stood up all those years ago by a guy who was too busy sleeping to come. Steve blamed himself for missing their date than anything else he has ever done in his life. Steve knew he would have grown old with Peggy if given the chance. She was his angel, and when asked the horrible question he tried to avoid, the answer would forever be the same. Peggy was the thing he missed the most from 1940.


End file.
